Queerbaiting

Also known as queer baiting, queer-baiting

"Queerbaiting" is a term used to describe certain creative and marketing practices (often related to a work of fiction) that seemingly hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. A variety of scholars, cultural critics and fans have claimed that these practices are intended to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of queer relationships and/or queer characters, while not alienating homophobic members of the audience or censors by explicitly portraying those relationships or characters.